An organization can operate its own data center, while a cloud service provider can operate shared infrastructure for multiple customers.
Managed data centers and colocation divide ownership and responsibility for dedicated hardware differently. An organization may use more than one of these models according to its workloads and needs.
Data center fundamentals series
Basic models for operating and using data centers
A data center can be an organization’s own facility, hosting its IT infrastructure and data on premises. In that model, the organization is responsible for deployment, monitoring, and management. A cloud service provider can instead operate a data center that houses virtualized IT infrastructure for shared use by multiple customers.
Managed data centers and colocation are additional ways to use data-center infrastructure. To understand those arrangements, separate who uses the facility, who owns the servers, storage, and networking hardware, and who administers and monitors that hardware. One organization can use more than one type of data center according to its workloads and business needs.
IBM — What Is a Data Center? | IBM
Managed data center: dedicated hardware with provider management
In one managed-data-center model, a client leases dedicated servers, storage, and networking hardware from a provider. The provider handles the client’s administration, monitoring, and management of that hardware.
The customer can therefore use dedicated IT hardware without necessarily taking on its routine management and monitoring. The exact service boundary should still be established from the service terms for the arrangement being considered.
Traditional colocation: customer-owned hardware in dedicated space
In a traditional colocation model, the client owns the IT infrastructure and leases dedicated space for it within the colocation facility. The client has sole access to the hardware and full responsibility for managing it.
Colocation, then, does not automatically mean that the facility provider operates the customer’s servers or network equipment. Hardware ownership and hardware-management responsibility should be considered separately.
Colocation management can be optional
Some colocation providers offer management and monitoring services to customers that want them. In those arrangements, the customer may still own the hardware while the management and monitoring boundary changes.
Do not infer the full responsibility split from the word “colocation” alone. Check whether management and monitoring are included and what work remains with the customer. This distinction concerns hardware management and monitoring; other responsibilities depend on the particular service arrangement.
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